Posted
by
BeauHDon Thursday November 09, 2017 @08:20PM
from the cold-hard-truth dept.

New submitter Brentyl writes: Hello Slashdotters, longtime Mac user here faced with a challenge: Our 14-year-old wants a Windows laptop. He will use it for school and life, but the primary reason he wants Windows instead of a MacBook is gaming. I don't need a recommendation on which laptop to buy, but I do need a Windows survival kit. What does a fairly savvy fellow, who is a complete Windows neophyte, need to know? Is the antivirus/firewall in Windows 10 Home sufficient? Are there must-have utilities or programs I need to get? When connecting to my home network, I need to make sure I ____? And so on... Thanks in advance for your insights.

One reason pc laptops get a bad rep is the good deals are full of crapware. Pay a bit extra for a Microsoft signature edition (usually less then $100 more then same hardware) but these have ZERO crapware and have had extra driver testing.

Speaking as someone who switched from Windows to Linux, after realizing that there were more games on Linux than I would ever have a chance to play anyway... I can only imagine that it's peer-pressure convincing his kid that he needs Windows. ("No! You need to play *this* game, specifically.") One solution is for the kid to get better friends, this is the best solution.

Another solution is to run Windows virtualized on Linux (as such [linuxlookup.com].). This can be a pa

I can only imagine that it's peer-pressure convincing his kid that he needs Windows. ("No! You need to play *this* game, specifically.")

This is not peer pressure, this is social gaming. They all get the same game and half the fun is talking shit over bluetooth headsets while you murder each other and/or work together to rob a bank or kill a dragon. There's nothing wrong with it, this is the same kind of thing that us dinosaurs used to do in LAN parties, except now it's done over the web and doesn't require you to carry your desktop computer to someone's basement.

Sure you can find solo games on any platform (or get your kid a connect-4 board in the $5 bin at 7-11) but to play high quality games with the best multiplayer features, you need a good machine running Windows. That's how it is.

Just install Windows 10 and try it. I moved from mac just under a year ago and my last experience with Windows was Win95 on a machine which mainly ran Linux. Win10 is far more mac-like than I was expecting. While interfaces are not as well thought out and designed as mac everything tends to work very well and it's easy to google what you need if you can't find it.

I can also recommend the Windows Linux subsystem which gives you a full Ubuntu installation running under the Windows kernel which gives a grea

God help you. I'm been through this, and it's ugly. My daughter destroyed her machine in minutes, multiple times. By the 5th wipe/reinstall she started to learn to avoid the crudites. (she started on linux, moved to mac, then Windows... for games of course)

1) no admin rights, and make sure no one ever runs as admin2) firewall shit up3) turn on windows defender, and grab a copy of webroot4) remove IE, install chrome5) get steam, only let games install from there

1) That's what UAC is for, learn about when something should prompt you and when to say no.2) That's the default3) That's the default4) What's IE? How do you even start IE on a modern Windows 10 machine?5) Why? What are you trying to prevent? Maybe teach people about risks of code execution than arbitrarily hide behind some walled garden.

You mean for last years games at low....I would not reccomend anything under 945M.....that's where a massive performance bump occures (and a smaller one to 950M).I think 1050 15" laptops are pretty good deals. My only gripe is Windows 10. And Intel's 7-gen GPU had no Win8.1 or earlier support. Although the HD graphics package does offer older support, 7-gen is specifically excluded (I learned this the hard way). Desktops are excluded, since you will not be using the IGP (again, 1st hand experience).

If cost is not an issue, why not just get him any thunderbolt-equipped MacBook and an eGPU box with a GTX970(unofficial) or Radeon RX580 (official support) in it? all I do is reboot into windows and game in bootcamp, then reboot into MacOS for everything else. it's super easy to do and solves all my problems.

Microsoft's inbuilt anti-malware is pretty decent. It is turned on by default. Just make sure it stays on.

Microsoft automatically updates its software automatically and it is turned on by default. Again, make sure it stays on.

Microsoft Edge (web browser) has a horrible reputation and Internet Explorer has a pretty bad reputation. Most people install Google Chrome and remove the Edge and IE icons from their desktop.

Schools tend to use google docs, which stores its files "in the cloud". If he wants to use Office or other programs that store files on the PC, consider installing OneDrive, Dropbox, or Google Drive so that his files are automatically backed up to the cloud. There are directions "out there" to redirect all the common storage locations, such as "My Documents" and "Desktop" into the synchronized folder.

Get an external USB drive and occassionally drag the folder "c:\users" to it. Keep it off-line when not in use. If ransomware hits, it tends to corrupt everything attached to the computer, including the cloud synchronized folders. I use a program "Free File Sync" to make this easy, but there are also other backup programs out there that you might find easier. Friends of mine use Synology NAS's for their backup, but they have a bigger toy budget than I.

Ocassionally save a screenshot of the "Apps & Features" control panel. This will help you know what needs installed if you decide to rebuild the machine.

Disk imaging software exists that will create a complete copy of the hard drive that you can use to restore the machine when the kid buggers it up. Some people find this a lifesaver, but it has not been a big win for me.

Most manufacturers have a "reset to factory defaults" option that erases and restores the hard drive. You might never need it, but it helps to figure out how it works before you do.

Consider removing admin rights from your kid's account and create a separate admin account with a password. Even if you give the kid the admin password, it helps keep unexpected things from happening behind everyone's back.

What is this, AOL? This such ridiculous FUD I can't believe it.... the shame!

- Good computing practices are good computing practices, regardless of which platform you use- Teaching your kids safe computing practices, again, irrespective of platform- I don't consider MACs significantly more or less secure than PCs running Windows, but I doubt we will ever know...- How fast were MACs hacked in the last hacking contest?- If MACs had a 90+% market share, they would be under attack too...

The menus don't float at the top of the screen, they're attached to the window. Closing all the windows will quit the app.

The filenames are case insensitive. This can cause some problems if you're moving them back and forth between the OSX and Windows machines.

Microsoft will try to convince you to get a hotmail account to use your machine. This isn't necessary, but I don't recall how to avoid it. Play around on that screen to keep your accounts local (unless you want them tied together).

Microsoft will try to convince you to get a hotmail account to use your machine. This isn't necessary, but I don't recall how to avoid it. Play around on that screen to keep your accounts local (unless you want them tied together).

I've installed Windows 10 few times so far, it never asked to create a hotmail account. Are you sure you're not running into some crapware from Sony, Dell or whoever sold you the laptop? Windows installer may give you an option to create a Microsoft cloud account so that you can use the same options on more than one Windows device, but even that suggests using whatever email you usually use - a hotmail account is last resort option if this is your first step on the internet and you don't have your own email

There is a difference between creating an cloud account and hosting email with a company. For example. slashdot is not hosting your email even though they do require you to login to post:-)

As for local account, absolutely a good option. If you ever have to administer a few Windows machine, even better is to setup a home server, such as Windows SBS - it allows you to centrally managed passwords, remotely backup all PC's to server, monitor all PC's health and deployment of updates, provide a shared network d

14 is a kid. He needs a disposable high school laptop, NOT a gaming laptop.

Gaming laptops are expensive, large, heavy, have shit battery life and attract thieves when in the hands of 14 year olds.

An obsolete toughbook might be just the ticket, not disposable, useful as a weapon in case of zombie apocolypse.

Kid likely already has newest console and gameable phone. Let the kid learn to build his own gaming desktop. Cast off desktop parts will be faster than almost any laptop. Find a PC person. You want a Core 2 Duo (or better) motherboard, a Nvidia graphics card, a fist full of RAM and a good power supply (last item to save kid from himself). Let the kid take it from there. (He'll find a better graphics card himself, horse trading etc.)

Software? Nothing will really help. The kid will roast the OS monthly. Obviously avoid the software that comes on it (McAfee/Norton).

Whatever brand you get, run PC decrapifier or similar. All the vendors crapify their machines for profit. None of the demo crapware is worth what you pay for it, much less what it will want in 30 days.

Sit down with him and let the machine get updates, pick your antivirus, install, then image it. Discuss where you can find mostly malware free software, start his mental whitelist.

Consider getting him a portable drive and teaching him to restore windows and backup his data himself.

In our times it hardly makes any sense to build your own PC.When you have thought about it, one week, two weeks, what components to use, and finally have bought them and then another day to build the PC... it is already outdated.

Just buy some off the shelf thing.

And if he wants/needs a laptop... who are you to argue about it?And then again: attracting thieves... then work on changing your society. I never heard about a 14 year old getting his laptop stolen in school... or in a school bus.

If you want your kid to use the laptop for school and life, but he wants a PC primarily for gaming, the clear solution would be to get him a Mac. If there's one thing I regret about my teenage years, it's the hours I wasted away playing Starcraft. Get your kid a guitar, enroll him in sports, buy him books, get him a chemistry set. There are all sorts of intellectually stimulating activities that aren't a total waste of the human brain.

I know this opinion may not be popular here, but I firmly believe that there are two distinct types of behaviors that both receive the "nerd" label. One is a pursuit of intellectual interests while the other is an obsession with games and fantasies. While there are many individuals who represent an overlap of these two stereotypes to varying degrees, the former traits are commendable while the latter are not. The nerds portrayed in The Big Bang Theory, who fully embody both of these stereotypes, aren't realistic.

Video games, like casino games, are designed to be addictive. Teenagers are especially susceptible to this addiction. The most hilarious thing about the video game critics who try to demonstrate that video games lead to violence is that it doesn't matter. No studies are necessary to demonstrate that they're a waste of time—especially for children, who have such an aptitude for learning.

Sports and if you want music is important.But there is nothing worse for a child not to be allowed to play with its friends. Regardless of RL or online.Preventing a child to play its favourite online games with his friends is the most stupid thing you can do as a parent.

boy, i left windows for greener mac pastures in 2009, and never looked back on the SW side (on the HW side is another matter). Having said that, I keep a Windows BootCamp partition for work, but my "windows skillz" are fuzzy, so I do not know if I'll be much help

Here are some basic sugestions in no particular order:

Get Windows 10. As long as he is going to windows, my as well go to the newest one. Do not heed the siren chants of "Downgrade". You know what happens to those sailors who heed the sirens chant...

Use Windows Defender as antivirus, is light on resources, good enough, and updates through the same mechanisms as the rest of the OS. Schedule scans agresively.

Do not let the guy be admin.

Set up some backup solution. Having said that, windows backup solutions do not hold a candle to timemachine, so expect to work your ass out on this one.

Make a full image of the HDD every 4 moths or so.

Configure defrag if you have an HDD. Completely disable defrag if you have an SSD. (it should be done by the OEM, but, check nonetheless)

Windows has a niffty feature (that MacOS does not have) which allows you to mark a connection as "Metered", meaning that is charged per GB, or subjected to Data caps. use accordingly.

Get Windows Pro. Enable Updates. DO NOT DISABLE updates, but Deffer updates.

Do not unistall ie11 and Edge, but HIDE them.

Install CCleaner (is analogous to Onyx or Yasu on OSX), use it bi-monthly. Aaaaaand install Recuva (allows you to recover files even after they are purged from the recycle bin/trash) on day one. You will thank me (eventually).

Restrict telemetry. There are tons of guides on the net on how to do it.

Just like on a mac, install a better compression/decompression uttility than what comes standart from the OS. WinRAR, 7Zip and Winzip are popular choices.

Install VLC (but then again, you do that on OSX too).

Install irfanview as a complement to the preview utilities.

Put at the very least uBlock Origin, EFF privacy Badger and HTTPS everywhere in the browser (browser being chrome or Firefox ESR).

Configure the browser as you would do on a mac from a privacy standpoint.

Windows has very rich parental controls (richer than mac's). Use them as you see fit (I am not a parent, so, aside from knowing they exist, and thart are better than mac's, can't say much more).

Install window on a bootcamp partition of YOUR mac, and make it so that this partition can ALSO be used from your Parallels/Fusion/VirtualBox. Many of the parental controls benefit from a second machine for control and supervision.

Do not trust the parental controls on Windows alone. A determined 14yo looking for porn will defeat them on ANY OS. Do something in the router as well (and he will defeat that too, but at least make it hard, so that he learns something along the way, trust me, I was a 14 YO once, I got my porn [also, talk to him about sex and porn, before "the internet" does the talk]).

Unistall all the trialware/bloatware, including antivirus trials, office365 trials (unless the guy wants office 365 and you want to save a few bucks), and all other shit. (Macs also have bloatware, we just do not think of it as such, if you do not believe me, check how much space garageband takes on your SSD. Yes, for musicians, garageband may be great, but for nonmusicians, just check how much space it takes).

Win10 has built in PDF readers and PDF generators, but those are crappy. Depending on his usage, that will suffice, or you will have to install something different.

Since the laptop is for gaming, I assume you get a dGPU, update drivers and enable whatever autoupdater is there for graphic drivers.

As soon as you get the laptop out of the box, update all manufacturer utilities.

Enter the Bios (is like a primitive conbination of UEFI/NVRAM/PRAM) and do a quick sanity check.

I learned long ago that laptop power supplies are the weakest link. Get a spare power supply immediately and/or a laptop with USB-C charging. Having a lost or damaged power supply means the laptop becomes an expensive brick in minutes or hours. Don't let that happen. I've had that happen and it sucks. The bonus is being able to keep one charger at a desk at home and another in the bag the laptop is carried in. There's no forgetting the charger at home because it never leaves the bag at home. If one g

It isn't all that different. It really depends on the child but you can just give it to your child and see how he will break it.

Actually, Windows 10 isn't that bad unless you have some legacy Windows thing you still need to use. Microsoft Edge is good enough for most uses. You can always install Chrome, too, but I didn't even bother installing Chrome since Edge just works on the websites I visit. The default Antivirus and Firewall apps are decent enough. For school, he/she will get enough help from the

Gaming? 14 year old? Get a console - any console - and get them used to playing on the console and working on the laptop. Blur that line and near-enough-to-zero work will get done on the (desktop | laptop | tablet | phone) and you'll be shoveling against the tide to get it back.

Just buy one of the macbooks and install Windows there, natively, single partition (i.e., leave no MacOS on the machine), with Bootcamp drivers. Fresh install will be totally free of bloatware.

I'm happily typing this on such machine. Bootcamp drivers are not polished to perfection but they generally work. There is no better designed notebook for Windows, otherwise I would have purchased it already. (Price does not matter.)

We have Windows machines in the house, also mostly for gaming. Really, it's not that dramatic. My list for you:

- Don't visit dodgy sites offering free games. As long as you install games and DLC from reputable sources, viruses and adware really aren't a problem. Windows Defender is all the defense you need.

- To be safe, figure out how to restore the machine to its factory defaults. My kids both have Alienware machines, and they offer an option to nuke-and-restore. If your child goes off and installs all sor

It's been a while since I ran a Windows natively (I now do Linux with Windows in a Virtual Machine), but way back then, I used to use a "clone" tool to make a perfect copy of the hard drive.

Get a big external drive and use a tool like Clonezilla, or Partition Magic (if that's still around) and clone the hard drive once to that external drive before you ever use it. (This lets you reset the machine to "new").

Then get the machine set up "just so", installing all the software, security stuff, settings you lik

I'm a hardcore GNU/Linux user for over two decades now. Only recently have I had to deal with Windows again (coding a cross platform desktop client), and although the interface is clunky and the continued lack of a usable package manager is a pain you also don't have to deal with all the stupid hand holding and bizarre restrictions OS X forces on you. As far as antivirus and security, just go with something free if you're worried and keep a backup schedule like you should with any OS. That's really all ther

Or wait a few years for the hardware to improve, then run it in virtualization of the Windows system. I provide just that support for Mac users as a policy, to allow them access to Windows specific software.

With kvm+gpu passthrough it's now native performance. It's still not completely trivial to set up and needs extra hardware(if you want to run X/Wayland in addition to Windows), but it's doable. Not something I'd recommend, but it's still more pleasant than actually dual booting. Linux for productivity, Windows for games.

Case in point: I wanted to replace my kid's laptop with Linux and tried to get Roblox running under Wine. At one time it was supported but apparently now it's broken due to some anti-debugging/anti-cheat restriction. Roblox a "killer app" for a lot of kids, so lack of support means it's a no-go. And I won't ever go back to Windows.

Tried making a hackintosh just to see if I could do it, but getting it working properly on a laptop is quite a challenge (you can't swap components out with more compatible co

For one thing, DRM-free multiplayer games can still require Wine-incompatible anti-cheat software. For another, two players cannot play a multiplayer game together if they are using different games, and if only one member of a circle of local friends plays DRM-free games exclusively, he is unlikely to find other players of the same multiplayer game in the same circle in order to set up a LAN match.

Why would i buy a copy of, say, assisns creed just to follow the same old story path that everyone else who had the games has followed. I'll stick to Rimworld where you never know when your colonists are going to be eaten alive by a rabid pack of squirrels or your base will be set on fire by some angry raiders, blinding your herd of Muffalo.

I run with a lower priv user and do not do stupid shit. Use a VM for the unsafe things or experimental. You know the exact same things that you do on a mac and linux. My wife also runs in a lower priv user account also and has several hundred games she plays. Only one or two need admin rights. Run with no-script and some sort of ad blocking for surfing (where 99% of the viri come from). Have them run it by you when they want to install something. Wit

We've got five Windows 10 machines in our family, used by me, my wife and my two kids. I just let Windows Defender do its thing and I haven't seen a virus in years.

This has been the case for years. Mac OS is no more or less secure than Windows since XP SP2. The major cause of insecurity remains the user and almost all Windows malware is now user installed and its worse for the Mac because the Mac user believes it's automagically protected (and the cure for Malware on a Mac is to buy a new Mac*).

Also remember that almost all malware this day and age is intentionally non-destructive. They've taken a leaf from microbiology and if a virus kills its host, it cant propagate and send spam, DDOS or mine Bitcoin.

* OK, you could re-install OSX but having to do this for simple problems is why I stopped doing Mac support over a decade ago.

First up gaming laptops have a real problem, overheating to death. Basically whilst they last they last, but once warranty is over don't expect them to last more than say three times the warranty period. They run hot, real hot and system elements will fail. That is a high powered gaming laptop. Reality is for gaming get a good desktop and for school and other stuff get a cheap near disposable notebook. Cheapest notebook pretty much anything running Linux and a range of free open source software will be good enough (for computer learning experience they now have a foot in both games, windows for gaming all it pretty much can sort of be relied on for and Linux for everything else). So desktop to play games and the cheapest possible Linux notebook for school work, some of the work can still be done on the desktop. Just remember to remind them M$ will be spying on them and not to 'you know' in front of the microphone and camera that M$ is monitoring.

He can buy his own windows box with the money he makes working at his after-school job.

I don't have kids, but that seems inefficient, given that an adult earns several times more and has 4x more time available for working. That's like a marriage between a millionaire and an average joe where the millionaire demands the other guy contribute 50/50 to vacations.

Like a parent (usually) brings a kid along for vacations, some reasonable amount of entertainment is something a parent should also pay for. Perhaps offering a cheap laptop, or just giving the money to be put toward a better laptop? Or of

In other words, you're making him sit on his hands until age 16 when he becomes legally eligible for an "after-school job." Though many jurisdictions allow 14- and 15-year-olds to work as an employee in occupations free of hazard, at least one duty of most entry-level unskilled jobs is 16+ by law or by insurance policy. In fast food, for example, every position other than cashier is 16+ by law because of hazards involved in food preparation, and cashier is 16+ because the business insurer doesn't think chil

I always recommend that unless you specifically need special hardware, to just get a $300-$400 refurbished laptop.

The problem is that you need to be careful in order not to end up with Intel integrated graphics, which isn't always suitable for the newest games. It'll take a while for Intel's deal with Radeon to bring products to the market, and it'll take another while for those to end up on the refurbished market. Therefore, gamers "specifically need special hardware." If gaming weren't the reason, he could just buy a Windows license to run in Boot Camp.

Since when does the packaging of mainstream* laptop PCs include a penguin logo or other notice of compatibility with X11/Linux?

you might also want an AMD machine (though they may have their own secrets.)

AMD kit includes the analogous AMD Secure Processor [amd.com], which runs ARM TrustZone. (It used to be called the Platform Security Processor until people who bought AMD-powered PS4 consoles were disappointed that they couldn't download and play purchased PSP games.) But at least ARM TrustZone is a multi-vendor standard.

* By which I exclude the more expensive, mail-order-only products of Sys

However - you'll spend far more time fixing that POS Windows with monthly patches that break your apps, applications that corrupt the registry, drivers that aren't compatible, hardware that was poorly designed and tested, and after all this time no one seems to be able to replicate Apple's trackpad design and functionality.

A lot of that, patches that break apps, applications that corrupt registry, driver issues, were real and extremely annoying issues a few years ago, not so much now. It's like jokes about Harleys leaking oil. It was a real problem. Back in the eighties.

The workstation on which I do business (photo and video post processing) runs Windows. This is because Adobe Creative Suite runs on (a) Windows, or (b) Mac. (It *almost* runs on Wine, but not close enough.)

I switched from Mac to Windows back when Apple and Adobe got into a pissing contest, I believe about that very same trackpad you like so much. I work with a mouse in my right hand and a midi controller with motorized sliders under my left hand. A trackpad does nothing for me. It's just something to accidentally touch when I'm using the keyboard. Typically the first thing I do on a new laptop is disable the damned trackpad.

The computer on which I do everything else, runs Mint.

I've got two elderly, high-end-at-the-time G series Macs parked under my desk. I need to remember to take them to freegeek.

I'm not a Windows fan. The moment Adobe comes out with a native Linux port, it'll be a pox on both your houses. I'll dump the Big Two and never look back. But until then, I have to put up with Windows.

And I have to say truthfully, although I've pushed my current and previous Windows 10 boxes pretty hard, both in the work I do, the ancillary apps I run, and the hardware I attach, I have yet to have a single blue (or whatever color it is this iteration) screen of death. I've never had a hang. I've never had a USB device not be recognized. It Just Works. Windows used to be a heaping pile of garbage, and with one release to another the heap just got taller or shorter. But right now, it appears to be dead nuts stable. Imagine my surprise.

It does a lot of things I find annoying, like constantly begging me to use Edge instead of Firefox, and shamelessly promoting Cortana at every opportunity. But it runs Adobe CC acceptably well. And it hasn't crashed since I "upgraded" to Windows 10.

In summary, that patter is getting a little stale. You might think about harping on lack of privacy and interrupting one's work with "Ask Cortana a question! Go on! You know you want to!" instead. There's still lots of reasons to hate Microsoft. Your arguments would carry more weight if you used ones that were still valid.

Most gaming laptops have a button that will allow you to turn off the trackpad.Upgrade to Windows Pro, you can turn off most the suggestions, notifications, and ads that are now embedded in Windows.You should be able to get a pretty decent machine for about $1000 that will play all games.Don't get a 4k screen, 1080p is plenty. More will only require more, hotter, hardware.

And most of all do not click on ANY link you get in email. Do not open ANY attachment you get in email. Ever.

(A friend is of the Mad Clickker persuasion, and I've had to nuke and pave his PC several times. It's been a while; I think he may have learned his lesson. Or maybe he just doesn't want to admit he's done it again.)

I agree with respect to links in emails that the user isn't expecting to receive. But your shouting of "ANY" connotes an absolute rule. When you sign up on a website, how do you go about confirming the ability of the address associated with your new account to receive emails (especially password reset tickets) at a particular address without clicking the confirmation link in an email?

The thermals are terrible. [penny-arcade.com] FTFY. I had a brief fling with Mac Pro desktops from 2005 - 2009ish. First one happily cooked its "good" video card twice before I ended up downgrading it to the "bad" one. Admittedly I stupidly tried to push 3D with it. If I'd stuck to 2D applications, it would have been OK, if a bit slow for the time. Both Mac Pro desktops I bought are still in service more than a decade later, though, both running as Linux servers. They installed multiprocessor xeons in those things, and they'r

I've done that on the desktop and the penalty was only lack of turbo-boost. On laptop, if done, power could also be an issue.But I've had 2 GPUs (radeon 5850 and later 7950 for VM and HD graphics for linux).But:- you need 2 outputs (I'm not sure on laptop....but the gaming GPU will NOT BE USED in linux, thus sharing the lcd is unexplored territory)- you need to look for specific support (Intel VT-d, not just VT-x) on CPU and MB- at that time, nVidia had only VT-d support on quadro.....geforce refused to wor

2001 called, they want their illusion of Mac being free from viruses and ransomware back.

A popular video conversion app for Mac has suffered a malware infection on one of its mirror servers. If you downloaded HandBrake between 10:30 a.m. EDT on May 2, 2017 and 7:00 p.m. EDT on May 6, 2017, you should follow these instructions to check your Mac for a new variant of the malware OSX.PROTON.

Haven't run into Ultrasearch before. I suggest Everything.exe - forget "searching", it provides find-as-you-type. When opened it shows you a list of every file on your computer, and then filters it down to just those which contain the word-fragments you type, literally as fast as you type them, even when pushing a million files. Usually a couple 3-4-letter sequences will reduce the list to a dozen or so files so you can easily spot the one you want.

What is "a Windows laptop" anyway.It's not like the OS and the hardware form a holy bond of matrimony.

A Windows laptop is one whose hardware has working Windows drivers. A Linux laptop is one whose hardware has working Linux and X.Org drivers. Many Windows 8 and 10 PCs, especially tablets with a detachable keyboard, have had serious incompatibilities with X11/Linux. And in most parts of the United States, you're unlikely to see a penguin logo on a laptop in a showroom. (Instead, you see the logo of Chrome OS on laptops designed to run one application and one application only: Google Chrome.)

On a Mac no one is using the desktop.The windows of various applications are always covering it.

The root directory in a Mac is/Just like on any unix.

The 'desktop' is a folder in your home directory.

No idea where you got your nonsense from.

You can put multiple copies of the same app or file in multiple folders/home screens, or even create links to two completely different folders to each other so you can quickly navigate between the two even though their paths are completely different.Windows can only creat

This. Just make him a standard user, and then periodically run updates and scans (Malwarebytes & Defender should be plenty) with your admin account. You can try to tell him that he shouldn't just try to download random crap, or to not visit streaming pirate anime sites, but if he's like my teens that won't get fully absorbed. Just keep his user locked down.